More troops
June 17, 2009
The German government said the mission would help "better coordinate" civilian and military air traffic. This would support the protection of the deployed soldiers and the Afghan civilian population.
Afghanistan's mountainous landscape hindered radar controls by ground troops, it said in a statement. Air traffic had also increased significantly in the past years.
"The reconnaissance aircraft were therefore urgently necessary to increase security," the statement said.
Germany will provide the troops for up to four Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) aircraft, whose home base is Geilenkirchen in western Germany. These will be sent when NATO begins its deployment of AWACS planes in Afghanistan. The aircraft will be stationed at the NATO base in Konya, Turkey.
The mandate is limited to December 13, 2009. The lower house of parliament still has to approve the mission and is expected to do so at the beginning of July.
NATO defense ministers approved the surveillance mission last Friday.
In total, Germany has about 3,500 troops in Afghanistan and there is a parliamentary mandate to send 4,500 as part of the NATO mission. But an additional mandate was required for the deployment of troops to assist the surveillance mission.
The AWACS planes will be unarmed. They can monitor a region of over 300,000 square kilometers from an elevation of 9,000 meters and can be refueled in the air.
sac/Reuters/afp/ap/dpa
Editor: Neil King